First record of leucism for Carollia castanea Allen, 1890 (Phyllostomidae: Carollinae) in southeastern Costa Rica

Authors

  • David Josué Mejía-Quintanilla Instituto de Conservación y Manejo de Vida Silvestre, Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica
  • Diego Gómez-Hoyos Proyecto de Conservación de Aguas y Tierras, ProCAT Internacional / Fundación Sierra to Sea Costa Rica, Las Alturas, Coto Brus, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
  • Rocío Seisdedos-de-Vergara Proyecto de Conservación de Aguas y Tierras, ProCAT Internacional / Fundación Sierra to Sea Costa Rica, Las Alturas, Coto Brus, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
  • Bernal Rodríguez Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
  • José González-Maya Proyecto de Conservación de Aguas y Tierras, ProCAT Internacional / Fundación Sierra to Sea Costa Rica, Las Alturas, Coto Brus, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Keywords: Atypical coloration, Bats, Neotropics, Talamanca

Abstract

Carollia castanea is distributed from Honduras to Venezuela. Leucism has not been reported for this species but there are reports for other phyllostomid bats. An adult C. castanea with leucism was captured at Las Tablas Protected Zone, Costa Rica. It presented depigmentation on both wing tips, under the and on the upper part of the uropatagium, however the white patches did not cover a high proportion of its skin. Some leucism cases in bats have been explained by inbreeding in small or isolated population, but it is scarcely supported by empirical evidence. Our record is anecdotal therefore we cannot offer an ecological or even a genetic explanation. We propose that leucism cases should be assessed in each specific context where it is recorded, and supported by robust population studies.

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Published
03-10-2017
How to Cite
Mejía-Quintanilla, D. J., Gómez-Hoyos, D., Seisdedos-de-Vergara, R., Rodríguez, B., & González-Maya, J. (2017). First record of leucism for Carollia castanea Allen, 1890 (Phyllostomidae: Carollinae) in southeastern Costa Rica . Anales de Biología, (39), 149–153. Retrieved from https://revistas.um.es/analesbio/article/view/421471
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